Aug. 9, 2005

LANCASTER, PA - With a young returning cast of runners in 2005, the Johns Hopkins men's cross country team will head into the new season with a fifth-place selection in the Centennial Conference Preseason Poll, released Tuesday.

Headlining the poll is Haverford, which received eight of the nine possible first-place votes. The Fords look to continue their recent Centennial dominance, which includes 12 straight conference titles. Dickinson also picked up a first place vote, coming in at second.

Despite the young core of their roster, the Blue Jays put together a strong showing in 2004, finishing first at two of their seven meets, including the Baltimore Metro Invitational on September 3 and the York Invitational on Sept. 25. At the Walt Disney Classic on October 9, Hopkins put together one of their more impressive showings of the year, finishing 12th in the 31-team field, and first among Division III schools.

Senior Gabe Tonkin (Santa Barbara, CA./San Marcos) and sophomore Patrick Brandon (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) lead the charge for Hopkins into the 2005 season, each coming in with three of the top 10 finishes for the team last season. Tonkin's top performance of the season came at the Disney Invitational, where he placed 43rd and had a career-best time of 26:41. Brandon finished strong last year, with a 24th-place finish at the Centennial Championships to go with a 67th-place effort at the NCAA Regionals.

2005 Centennial Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll:

1. Haverford - 64 pts. (8 first-place votes)
2. Dickinson - 54 (1)
3. Muhlenberg - 51
4. Swarthmore - 38
5. Johns Hopkins - 37
6. F&M - 31
7. Gettysburg - 25
8. Ursinus - 13
9. McDaniel - 12